Four Sided Triangle
by cozycatastrophe
Summary: Rewrite of my original. Vala Phoenix grew up not knowing why her father left.. but what happens when she finds out why all too quickly?
1. Prologue

All right, this fic is a re-write of Four Sided Triangle. I have been thinking, and I like my new plot and I know where everything is going to go, plot wise. So, you'll see the differences from the original. If you didn't read the original, don't worry about it. I've grown as a writer and I like this new plot much, much better. Hopefully this one isn't so mary- sueish. Ok so let's get this proverbial ball rolling.  
  
Disclaimer I do not own any characters from Marvel, X-Men or otherwise. I own the characters you don't recognize. I also own the plot.

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A man was thrust into a small windowless room. He stumbled and fell into a stainless steel table. The legs wobbled and the glass containers it was holding nearly tumbled from their perch. The thick door slammed shut, imprisoning the man. The shot of sound the closing door made echoed off of the bare and cold walls, making the man's ears ring. His head felt like a sledgehammer had pounded it in. His whole body felt like that, as a matter of fact. The man chuckled nervously as his mind cleared the uncomfortable, foggy feeling the anesthetic created. He didn't like that feeling. He felt unprotected, too vulnerable when he couldn't use his brain to it's full potential. The man's eyes had somewhat adjusted to the dim light a fluorescent tube emitted above his aching head. He could make out test tubes, beakers and various other pieces of lab equipment. His hair, long from negligence, fell in front of his eyes, eyes that were watering from the cause of his predicament. Soon sobs wracked his body as he thought of his family. His wonderful wife and his beautiful girl. He would never see his baby grow into adolescence and become a rebellious teenager. He hadn't been around much to see her mature from dolls to hunky movie stars in the first place. He won't be able to tease her about crushes on those movie stars either. The man was distracted from the pain his heart radiated when the door creaked open and a silhouette of a man stepped into view. The visitor stepped forward, leaving the door open just a crack, probably for the light.  
"Oh come on, Clark. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your ass off of that cold floor." The man addressed his prisoner. "You brought this upon yourself, you know. Experimenting with all those serums and all. Trying to make this world a better place." The male on the floor stood up at the remark, but slowly as if his bones were twenty years older than his actual age, and leaned against the feeble table. "That's much better, my good man. Now I can see how pathetic you look right now." The prisoner racked his brain for an escape route, ignoring his opponent's insults, using his mind to create scenarios on how he could break out of this hellhole. The man named Clark looked his captor in the eye; glaring at those cold, silver orbs as the second man continued to talk. "You know what I want, Clark. You know why you're here." Clark searched blindly on the table for anything lethal to use as a weapon. His hand found and grasped a glass cylinder. He wasn't even listening to the intruder now. "Clark, my little genius. Just cooperate. For your daughter's sake." Clark's rage erupted at the mention of his daughter. His lovely daughter whom he would never see. Who this monster was threatening. Clark screamed, letting his anger loose as he hurled the glass container at the fiend's head. The man jumped out of the way before the projectile made contact, but was pushed over by his prisoner's escape attempt.  
"Stop him!!!" The man yelled from the floor as Clark darted out of the door. A scuffle was heard outside as Clark met a pair of guards. He was soon dragged back into his cell and thrown against a wall, being held there by his captor's goons. The man on the floor pushed himself to a standing position and straightened himself out, adjusting his tie and smoothing out his jacket. He smirked at his prisoner, that stupid scientist. He strolled over to the struggling Clark who was apparently trying to gasp something inaudible because of a parched throat. The man leaned down to hear what he had to say.  
"Who are you?" Clark questioned the man with a raspy voice.  
"Me?" The man shot back as he stepped backwards toward the door. He motioned his head towards the guards, who slammed Clark against the wall and then ambled to the door. Clark slumped to the ground in a sitting position with his chin against his chest. The man continued to back away and just as he left the cell, Clark raised his head to hear the answer. "You can call me by my first name, as you'll be hearing it a lot soon." And just as the door was about to close, the man muttered one barely audible statement.  
"Donovan. Go ahead and search your mastermind mind for the meaning of that one, genius." The man named Donovan stepped from the room with a final clang from the iron door.  
Then, as he was told to do, Clark hunted in his vast knowledge for the meaning. He chuckled when he found the diction of his captor's name.  
Donovan: Dark Warrior.  
To Clark, it fit him perfectly. But Clark didn't know how much Donovan's name would dictate his character until he found out what cause motivated this man to such awful deeds. To what battle that dark warrior wanted to fight. Clark didn't even know if he would live to know what Donovan wanted to do.  
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Alright, that was the prologue. Next chapter coming soon, if I get enough reviews mind you. Hope you like it so far... this was just to give a bit of b/g info... sort of. R & R. Pendragon4 


	2. The Beginning

OK First Chapter to this... Hope you like it! Some routine things first... then onto the story. Disclaimer I do not own any characters from Marvel, X-Men or otherwise. I own the characters you don't recognize. I also own the plot. "...." = speaking '....' = thoughts ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------  
Chest heaving with panic, I sat straight up in bed. The open window beckoning the cool breeze that washed over me. My heart struggled to slow down from the terror my brain had just conjured. I glanced through my auburn hair that was plastered to my face, at the glowing digits on the clock. 4:19 am. Damn. I shook my head, as if I could rattle the images from my mind. 'Why does he keep haunting me like that?' I wonder. Those damn pictures of my dad strolling through the house like when I was a little kid. I'm about seven when I watched him walk out the door. Chasing after him, my dream self throws open the door and runs out, not looking where I'm going and I fall. I keep falling and falling into darkness, screaming for him. Then before I hit the ground and I wake up, I always wake up before I hit the ground. The covers are draped over me, blocking just a little bit of the chilly Chicago wind. My eyes fall upon the clock again. It's too late to go back to sleep and it's too early to go to work. I sighed and roll out of bed, my only solution being to actually go out and get breakfast before work.  
  
Strolling down the loft and into the kitchen, I threw my business jacket over my grey blouse and search for my purse. My keys lie on the counter, of course next to my wallet. I roamed the kitchen and spotted my purse lying under a chair. No idea how it got there, but at least I have it. I stuffed my wallet inside and snatched my briefcase off the counter. My keys hooked around my finger as I bustled out of my loft, shut and locked my door. Dropping my keys in my purse, I strode to the elevators and rode the first one down.  
  
Once I got to the lobby, the doorman, on a surprisingly early shift, politely greeted me and hailed a cab. I gave a nod of thanks while climbing into the cab. Telling the driver my destination for an early morning muffin, I get situated in the uncomfortable back seat. I glanced out the back window and spot a white van. I can't see anyone in the driver's seat and it looks like some kind of utilities van. A chill traveled down my spine and made me shiver. I quickly forget about the van however, when the busted clasp on my briefcase popped open and dribbled out all of my case papers. The van gets smaller and smaller as the cab pulled away and I scrambled to put all of the folders into the case. ---------------------------------------  
Sauntering into my office building heals clicking on the linoleum floor, I flashed the guard my ID badge and headed upstairs, breakfast in hand. The cheap hotel looking carpet muted my heels as I made my way to my desk. I work in a bland office building with carpet that I think has been there since the building was opened. My job is to handle and organize child custody cases. I've been trying to get promoted to social worker though.  
  
Sitting down at my cubicle, I relieved the briefcase of its contents and placed them on my desk. I dropped the briefcase at my feet and a picture framed on my desk caught my eye. My mom sitting in a window, edged by a warm wood picture casing. My mom was the best when I was little. She handled my dad leaving so well. Not freaking out into hysterics, she took things into her own hands and raised me like a mother should. It sounds extremely clichéd but she was my best friend. I was heartbroken when she passed away a couple years ago. I had already lost one parent at the age of eleven, and had to lose my other one at 23. I don't know if I could classify my dad as a parent though. He was constantly working. Hidden in his private office, he strayed away from family dinners and game nights. I would be sitting on the floor playing with my dolls when he would come home. Glancing up at him with a smile plastered on my face, I would only get a hair ruffle in return. I was forbidden to go into his office sanctuary long before I could really even read. I think that's why I was sadder when my mom died that when my dad left.  
  
Breaking the glance from my mom, I shuffled papers, trying to get them in order. Out of the corner of my eye I see my breakfast bag being lifted off of my desk and an intruder rifle through it.  
  
"Chase, I brought you a muffin, too. Don't worry." I address the thief. He looked up from the bag and smiled at me.  
  
"Good thing too, or I would have eaten yours." He replied while pulling out a blueberry muffin from the brown bag. Leaning against one of the cubicle walls, Chase unwrapped the muffin and took a bite out of it.  
  
"I know that. That's why I bought you one." I said to him, snatching the bag out of his hand. "Why do I buy you breakfast anyway? And why aren't you out working instead of bugging me?"  
  
"I am working, Vala. I just decided to take a break and see my favorite person in Chicago." That earned an eye roll from me. "Besides, I just have to deliver this package to this complete asshole over on Main. He can wait a couple hours for it."  
  
Chase Anderson, probably one of my best friends in the entire city. He never really grew up after high school. He's a bike messenger for a living and mostly slacks off and hangs around my office. He says it's to visit with me, but I really know it's to scope out my fellow female co- workers. They enjoy leading him around like a little puppy. Especially when he wears his biking outfit, a bright yellow spandex jumpsuit. Which of course he was wearing today.  
  
Chase's attention was drawn from his muffin when the office slut, Blanche, strolled by, swinging her hips exaggeratedly. I snapped my fingers in front of his face after his eyes glazed over at her swaying behind. He jumped out of his trance and smiled nervously at the glare I gave him.  
  
"What?? Can't a man just look?" Chase declared in defense. I just shook my head and chuckled.  
  
"Just go. Don't even try, man."  
  
Chase mocked a hurt look as he backed away, munching on his muffin. I rolled my eyes again and shouted at his back.  
  
"Oh! By the way, you know you look like a walking banana?" That gave me a backwards wave from him. I shook my head again and turned back to the latest case I had to organize. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- A/N I know this chapter doesn't really tell you too much right now, but it was getting really, really long! I'll post more later, because I'm getting into a groove lol. Hope you enjoy this! Review, and remember reviewing means more chapters. No reviews = no more chapters. But I'll give ya'll a while for that lol. Have fun and Happy thoughts! Cheers! Pendragon4 


	3. One Long Night

Many hours later, I was sitting at my desk placing new files into my briefcase. It was nearing the end of my workday, and I wanted to get out of that drab office as fast as humanly possible. Sneaking out was my only option as it was already late and if the executives were going to corner someone for midnight filing, there was a bad chance of that someone being I. My cubicle neighbors were already gone and probably sitting at home with their families eating a nice home cooked dinner. Gathering up my coat, purse and briefcase, I tiptoed to the elevators for a fast break. The light dinged as the elevator rested to a stop at my floor. My sanctuary was just behind the sliding doors. The doors pulled open but before I could hop on the ride to freedom I heard a singsong voice call my name behind me.

"Oh, Phoenix," The exec called in his smooth voice. "I'm gonna have to have some one stay and put some more files away. It shouldn't take more than a few hours." I mentally slapped my forehead and turned to face one of my bosses. It was already 11:00 and filing was a tedious job. "And seeing that you're the only person left up here, I guess that job goes to you." He continued. "Files are in the board room, and there should be some coffee left. Feel free to make yourself some more if you need it." I sighed and pushed my way past the exec, who happened to step into my waiting elevator, and into the glass paneled meeting room. 'It shouldn't be too hard.' I thought to myself. My feet stopped short, however, when I saw towers of files. Dropping my briefcase in frustration, I stalked to the break room make a cup of coffee and to get ready to buckle down and tackle the waiting documents. 

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Numerous cups of coffee later, I sluggishly walked out of the building. Half smiling to the poor security guard who had the graveyard shift, I pushed open the glass doors and into the cool Chicago wind. Lone cabs whipped past me as I stepped to the curb, holding a hand out to signal for one of the speeding cabs. My heart beat a little bit faster each time an ignorant driver passed me. My signal eventually produced a bright yellow car to pull to the curb. I poured my tired body into the cab and told the driver my destination of home. Resting my head against the leather headrest, I closed my eyes and relaxed my beating heart. I always hated working later than normal hours. It gave me the creeps to go outside in the near morning by myself.

I saw out the front windshield that tenants who had arrived home earlier had taken all the parallel parking spaces infront of my building. Eventually the driver found a space to pull up a couple buildings down and grunted a payment amount. I paid my fare and slunk out of the backseat. As the cab pulled away, I made my way up to my building, purse and briefcase in hand. A large vehicle pulling up into the space the cab had vacated behind me drowned out my heels clicking on the cement sidewalk. My pulse quickened and nervousness came over me. I glanced behind me and saw two men get out of the lingering van. That van looked so familiar, but I couldn't place it. Then it hit me; it was the van from this morning. My steps quickened, as the doors to my building loomed closer. I shot another look over my shoulder and saw the two males were walking toward me. One of them, a more heavyset man, suddenly pulled out a gun. My eyes widened as he aimed toward me. I dropped my belongings and ran like the devil was chasing after me. My safe house was getting closer, but for all I knew, it seemed to grow farther away. The armed man's accomplice began to run after me. My briefcase popped open and out flew all of the papers it held. The chaser ran faster than ever, hurdling my dropped belongings and gaining distance on me. I ran faster than I think I ever had before and shot a look back to see where he was. The man stopped chasing me, as my building became only a few yards away. Maybe I was going to make it! The armed man and his partner grew smaller, but I could see the man who was chasing me nod to his friend. I whipped my head around to see where I was going and heard a shot ring out. A searing pain ripped through my arm as I stumbled and fell to my knees. The blackness quickly took the edges of my vision as I drifted from consciousness. 

Falling to the cold cement, I saw both attackers stand over me. The darkness finally took over all of my vision as I swam in and out of perception, but as everything faded to black, I heard the chuckling of the men standing over me.  
  
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R&R.

Pendragon4


	4. Just Evander

Alright... I decided that I'm going to do shout outs for everyone that reviewed much later... sorry, but it's just easier on my part g. Anyway... So sorry for the delay, computer problems, mind you. But enough of that, I'm back! Disclaimer I do not own any Marvel or X-men ideas and am not collecting money for this. Along with that I do not own Fermilab. This story is not an endorsement of any kind. Now on to the story...

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My eyelids felt like they were weighed down with heavy stones and I struggled to get them opened. I could feel something binding my wrists in front of me and my ankles were also bound together, my high heels lost in the unknown. A rag was tied around my head to block any screams pleading for help that could come from my mouth. There was a cold, metal feeling to the floor and a faint rumbling with it. My eyes finally unlocked but my vision was slightly clouded and everything had a blur around the edges of it, complimenting the unsteady feeling in my head. Lying horizontal to the floor, my sight started to clear after a bit of time passed. I could make out two seats, the outline of their two occupants in front of me. The floor bounced and my mind connected the doubting thoughts of this room not actually being a room. I glanced out the window and saw streetlamps that illuminated the dark sky blast by.  
  
A groan escaped my lips as the floor of the van bounced again. My muscles ached and screamed in pain. I looked up and caught one of my captors staring at me. I recognized his face as the man who had been chasing me, when was that? I couldn't recall how long I had been out. The man chuckled and turned back around to face the windshield. The vehicle hit another bump in the paved road and my head rudely slammed against the metal floor. Blackness overtook me instantly again.  
  
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I woke up to the creaking of the rusted doors of the van being pulled open and a flashlight being shined into my tired eyes. Hands grasped my bound limbs and unceremoniously pulled me out of the back of the van. I was thrown to the ground and my ankle binds were cut; yet my hands were not released. I was gruffly pulled to my feet and I was pushed forward to a building. I stumbled further and then fell to my weak knees. One of my captors yelled a warning and told me to move forward. I shook my head and one of the men became enraged and grabbed a handful of my hair. He yanked on it and pulled my head back to look into my eyes. His eyes were an emerald green; he spoke sharply and pushed my head forward with disgust. He nodded to his partner and they both lifted me off the ground by my forearms. Fists like iron clamps carried me towards the door. The door itself opened and two more men greeted us. I screamed for help, but the rag muffled my cries. We got closer to the door, to a prison I did not want to be in. We stopped harshly in front of the doors and my two hijackers pulled ID cards that dangled on chains from under their shirts. The two men inside nodded briefly and stepped back. I was pushed forward but before they could force me inside I swiftly brought my legs out and lodged them on the doorjamb. My struggle was not greeted with surprise, however, just looks of boredom as if the guards dealt with this behavior all the time. The new men inside grabbed my ankles and pulled me indoors.  
  
They carried me through multiple hallways until eventually we stopped and my ankles were dropped to the floor. One of the men who were holding my feet pulled a card out and swiped it through a reader next to a steel door. The door pulled itself open, revealing a dark and dank room with just a wicker mat on the floor. I struggled with the men, seeing that the cell was going to be my future accommodations. My resistance was futile however, as the men tersely shoved me into the gloomy cell and slammed the door shut.  
  
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I stumbled to my knees and realized that my clothes had been ripped in places, my pantyhose in tattered strips from all the struggles. Tears leaked from my eyes and blurred my vision slightly as I looked around the dark prison. None of the walls, except for the one framing the door, had any passageways to freedom. The door itself had a paned window in it that let in some scraps of replica light. One of them, however, had a chunk of concrete taken out of it, like some giant monster had gotten hungry enough to take a bite out of the wall, about five feet above the floor. I could see the hole was barred over, as if the people here were too busy with other things to properly fix it.  
  
Through my distorted eyesight I spotted a sharp rock that was probably once a piece of the broken wall. Crawling over to the rock, I started to carve away at the plastic restraints. The tears from my eyes had dried, my brain starting to find another emotion: fury. The angrier I got, the harder I whittled the plastic bindings. After several minutes of working my anger out on the rock and the ties, I finally broke free, cutting the side of my hand in the process.  
  
"Shit!" I yelled in anger and pain.  
  
"You might want to look out for those sharp edges." A deep voice in front of me advised. My head snapped up in answer. I searched the shadows that were thrown by the light radiating by the window and spotted a face gazing down at me through the bars in the wall. I stood up abruptly and started to back away, tripping over the edge of the wicker mat and falling to the ground. I could feel my blood starting to drip down the side of my arm.  
  
"Whoa, easy there, tiger. They don't want you to hurt yourself." The man's voice was soft and seemed kind. I could see his features in the dim light. He seemed to be only a bit older than me, maybe 28 or 29 years old.  
  
"They? Who are They?" I questioned the man in the wall. "And who are you anyway?"  
  
"They, being the guys who brought you here. You're way to important to them to start trying to hurt yourself now. Here, that looks kind of bad." He said back, ignoring my second question completely. I looked up at the man. He seemed truly concerned but his comments seemed very ominous, like he was hiding something. Suddenly he turned away from the hole, like the conversation was over with. A staggered ripping sound came from the break and he came back with a piece of torn, beige material in his hand. He tossed it in my direction and then nodded at it, instructing me to use it for my hand.  
  
"I'm too important to them? For what?" I picked up the thrown piece of fabric and began wrapping my wound. I was starting to become angry with this stranger, although he seemed to be extremely kind. He was being extremely vague, but his voice seemed to make me trust him.  
  
"What's your name?" He replied, steering the conversation away from his statements, like he was trying to deceive me. I had finished wrapping my hand and decided to give in and see if I could question him later.  
  
"Vala Phoenix. Yours?"  
  
"Evander." He said shortly, with no affection for his given title.  
  
"Just Evander? No last name? I gave you mine." He gave me a small smirk to my remark and his eyes gave a glint of happiness for just the tiniest of seconds, but I caught it.  
  
"Just Evander."


	5. Sleep

OK, I am so sorry for not updating a long time sooner! I've been busy w/ the original story I'm writing and school and everything else! But I'm back! I don't own anything but the characters you do not recognize... and I don't own Marvel, X-men or its affiliates and I don't own Fermilab... I don't want it. And to my knowledge, the only thing Fermilab is doing in their basement is smashing atoms. Ok on w/ the story!

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"Ok, Just Evander," I replied in disbelief, still sitting on the floor. I finished wrapping my hand and actually started to relax. I don't know if I was so exhausted or if it was because of Evander, but I really started to relax. "How'd you get in here?"  
  
"Ah," He replied, a smile played at the corner of his lips. "You don't really want to know that. It's not that important, and besides, it's a really long story." The hole in the wall was big enough and the bars were far enough apart to allow him to drape his arms through the rods. He laced his fingers together and I could see his pale skin practically glow in the dimness. He had been here a long time, I could tell just by the pigment of his skin.  
  
I looked up at him from the floor and caught his eyes. They were a deep blue, although I could see that they were starting to fade a bit. His hair was messy and dark ebony, and had started to stretch towards his chin.  
  
"Well, by the looks of it, I think I've got some time." I replied coolly. I caught a spark of humor in Evander's eyes.  
  
"Maybe another time." I could judge that he was playing with the idea of telling me. Something was giving him doubt, however.  
  
"You know, I'm a very good listener. You can trust me." His eyes didn't seem to give away any answer, however.  
  
"Oh, I do not doubt my trust in you at all. I just don't feel like sharing my life story at the moment." Evander replied, that look of comedy never leaving his face. He had good humor even with the setting he was in, like he had grown accustomed to being in these stone cells, surrounded by cold rock.  
  
Something from that sentence had clicked and sent bells ringing in my brain, though... "...my life story..."  
  
"Wait, you said your life story. I only asked how you got in here, not your life story." I became suddenly suspicious. Yet, under that suspicion lurked a feeling of fright. I was praying he wasn't going to answer the way I thought he would.  
  
"Did I say that? Well, you know it's a figure of speech." He seemed tense about my observation for some reason. His whole body had frozen and panic flitted behind the mask of humor in his eyes.  
  
"Oh, alright." I let it drop. He didn't want to talk about it to a total stranger, and I didn't want to pursue it, but I was still curious.  
  
"So where am I exactly?" I wanted to change the uncomfortable feeling that had generated between us.  
  
"From what I remember, Fermilab." "Fermilab?!?" I suddenly sat up straighter. Fermilab was a scientific research facility out near the middle of nowhere in Illinois. The biggest thing they had been working on had been smashing atoms underground, not keeping people prisoner, and I voiced that exact fact to Evander.  
  
"Well, they keep secrets from the public. Especially lately." He didn't seem bothered by it, but I was. I remember visiting Fermilab when I was in the seventh grade. We caught bugs and looked at them under microscopes. I wondered if the docents that guided little kids around on the surface knew about what was going on under the fields of butterflies and flowers.  
  
I shivered, and I didn't know if it was because of the facts Evander was sharing with me, or if it was that I was sitting on concrete with my uncomfortable work clothes on. My stomach growled as I rubbed my arms, trying to keep warm. If they were going to keep me captive, they could at least give me decent clothing and feed me. I stood up and saw Evander's gaze follow me to the door. I balanced on the balls of my feet and looked out the barred window in the steel door. Resting my face against the bars, I searched the long, dim hallway for any signs of life. There was no one there, however.  
  
"Hey!" I yelled. "Can I get some food and some decent clothing in here?!?" They took me captive, and I think they deserved as much obnoxious actions as I could give them. I rested back on my feet and glanced back at Evander. He raised an eyebrow and a smile flitted across his lips. I grinned slyly and looked back out the window. I searched up and down the hallway, shouting occasionally, until I saw a man dressed in a drab off-white security suit, carrying a package in his hands. I left the window and sat back down on the wicker mat, smiling slightly to Evander.  
  
I heard the guard's footsteps stop at the door of my cell and the beeping of the barcode reader beside the passage. The steel door slid open by itself and before I could even look up, the guard threw the package at me and the door slammed closed.  
  
I untied the string and opened the paper to a pile of neatly folded clothes. I unfolded a large, beige work shirt and matching pants that seemed my size. There was no food hidden underneath the clothes, however. I sighed in exasperation, but was glad for the clothes. I looked up at Evander and he rolled his eyes while turning away so I could change. I quickly stripped off the dirt and blood covered clothes I was wearing and replaced them with the uniform the guard supplied. The shirt and pants fit relatively well, and I was glad to have at least some comfort. I threw my old clothes in a far corner, and told Evander he could turn around again, while I sat down on the mat.  
  
I leaned against the wall facing Evander and looked at him. He didn't seem the least bit tired, but exhaustion seemed to overcome me. Apparently he could see it, too.  
  
"Go to sleep, Vala. We'll have plenty of time to talk later." He seemed to genuinely care for my companionship. He probably hadn't had anyone to talk to in a long time. I closed my eyes to his smiling face and had just started to drift to sleep when the steel door pulled open to the silhouettes of two large men. They marched in and grabbed my upper arms in an iron grip. I looked at the hole between Evander's cell and mine, but he was gone. I guess I wasn't going to get sleep anytime soon.

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To be continued. R&R -Pendragon4


	6. Testing

Whistles+ Haven't updated this fic in a long, long time. Don't know who still reads it, but I felt like updating it. Hope you all like it. And if you haven't read this fic yet, and thought it was a "Lessons" update, read this one! You don't need to know anything about X-men to read it, yet at least. Or at all. But don't forget to review. Now on to the update that has been long coming.

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My arm throbbed with pain, just as my mind reminded me that I had been injured there in the beginning of this lovely evening, as the two men dragged me through the lit hallways. A light bulb flickered in the distance, interrupting the sterile perfection of the building layout. My body yelled at me to fight, but my logic replied with nonchalant and reasonable answers. The men steering me down the halls were about twice my size and they didn't look like the prime example for the term, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall" so I stayed quiet. My body and mind had been expecting a nice quiet night's sleep and had already been wearing down, with my adrenaline growing short. 

I tried to keep track of all of the twists and turns that were taken through the halls, but eventually I lost track of the rights and lefts that I was guided through. I was surprised at how the men could simply turn in the correct direction with no conversation between each other and no hesitation, either. There were no signs directed me to an exit or the final room to where I was headed, just those steel doors every few feet. Every so often I heard a whimpering or crying that came from behind the doors, but for the most part, the only sound I heard were the men's leather dress shoes and my bare feet on the linoleum floor.

After about ten minutes of walking, although it seemed an eternity for me, we finally stopped in front of a door labeled "Testing". A bulky man similar to my escorts was sitting in a metal chair, looking bored. He gazed up at his collogues and nodded. One of my sentries slid his ID badge through the scanner on the left side of the steel door and the door slid open silently, just like all the others. My heart started racing as I caught glimpses of test tubes, beakers, hypodermic needles and surgery equipment. Especially when seeing the surgery equipment. No way was I going to let them cut me open, so the instincts my body had been sending me kicked in suddenly. What adrenaline I had left surged through my bloodstreams and I felt like I had enough strength left to force my way out of custody. Using the leverage I had and leaning against the bulky frames of my captors, I brought my legs out and slammed them against the frame of the steel door. This group of guards hadn't experienced me do this when they had dragged me into the actual building, so it took them by surprise. I didn't knock them off balance, but my sudden movements made them drop my arms and I took that opportunity to run. Now I know I got lost on the way to the "Testing" room, but at that point I didn't care. I just ran as fast as physically possible. I heard far off yelling for me to come back, like the men could convince me to stop and just turn around. I guess logic set into their minds because that's when I heard the bang of a gun and a sharp pain in my neck, like a bee sting. I stumbled slightly and slowed to stop, while reaching around and plucking whatever had hit me out of the flesh of my neck. The hallway grew smaller and smaller as I looked at the small capsule in clutched in my fingers. I didn't recognize it, but soon I heard running footsteps, and I fell, the world turning black.

I woke up to small pain in the crook of my elbow and came face to face with a middle aged man with his attention on a needle that was lodged into one of my veins. He was about forty with grey just starting to pepper his brown hair, mostly at his temples. I groaned with the pain in my neck, right hand and especially to the sting that had doubled in my left arm thanks to the needle jabbed into it. The man taking my blood looked up at me with a little bit of surprise in his eyes, mixed with sympathy. I couldn't tell if he was feigning the sympathy, or if he truly didn't want to hurt me. He pulled the needle out, untied the rubber band around my upper arm and then covered the spot where the needle had been with a band-aid. He walked over to a counter and set to work extracting the blood from the needle. My vision had cleared and I tried to sit up, but straps across my forearms, wrists and shoulders caught me before I could fully sit up, attaching me to the examination table that would be seen in a doctor's office. I looked at my feet and found them bound as well. Panic started to set in as I looked around the room for an exit. The only way out of the room seemed to be the door I had been dragged through. I mumbled curses under my breath as I scanned my head for a way to get out, but none came to mind. The man had his back to me, and didn't seem to be paying much attention to my cursing. As I was trying to wriggle my hand free of the restraints, the steel door slid open to reveal a dark silhouette. A man dressed in a freshly pressed suit and tie strolled into the lab as though it was the most natural of occasions.

The man came to a stop and stood next to the table and looked down at me. His dark hair was jet black and neatly trimmed to match his pristine appearance and fell into his silver colored eyes. He made eye contact with me and a chill ran down my spine. I didn't like the presence of this man; he radiated power and iciness through his eyes. I longed to be away from the coldness that he emitted. His gaze, after a few very long minutes, placed itself on the scientist still running tests on my blood.

"How are you doing, Johnson?" The man clasped a hand on his employee who looked up at him with surprise and then nodded. "How are the tests going on the subject?" I felt like a lab rat, which to them I probably was.

"Fine, sir. I'm just finishing up with the blood samples. She's been unconscious for most of the tests. Just woke up actually." The scientist never took his eyes off of his samples, as if he was scared of the man next to him.

"Good. Good. I heard she gave some of the guards the slip earlier." This man chatted to the scientist as though they had been friends for years.

"Yes, sir, she did. But they got her with a tranquilizer before she could get too far."

"Hmm, well that's good. Keep up the good work, Johnson, and tell me when you've gotten the results." The man turned away from the counter and looked at me again. He knew he held all the cards in his hand and was in total control, yet he took his role as casually as if he was the manager of a retail store. His cold eyes looked me up and down and then shook his head in disgust. He held up a leather wallet, _my_ leather wallet and looked at the license inside. His eyebrows shot up as he read the personal information on the plastic card.

"Vala _Phoenix_, eh?" The tone in his voice gave away his interest in my name. I nodded in reply, too scared to talk. The tone immediately left as though the information meant nothing to him, which it probably didn't. "Welcome to Fermi Lab. Hope your stay is memorable." He flipped the wallet closed and strolled out of the laboratory, the steel doors slamming shut behind him.

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Hope it was long enough. May update later… maybe not.. I just wanted to get this chapter out onto the web and out of my head. Review! 

Pendragon4


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